At the top of Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk’s current to-do list is a problem Wisconsin knows all too well: alcohol abuse.
There’s too much of it in Dane County and throughout the rest of the state, Falk says, and we’re not doing enough to combat it. The financial and social costs are high. Funding for alcohol abuse prevention and treatment is tight. Treatment programs in Madison have wait times that are months long. And for Falk and many others who have watched family and friends struggle with addiction, there is too much suffering and too many painful memories.